What is Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)?

It’s when a child has difficulty processing the world around them. What they see, hear, smell, touch, and taste isn’t recognized the same as you and me. The signals get mixed up and it can cause confusion, frustration, and even fright.

Sensory processing refers to the way the nervous system receives sensory messages and turns them into responses. Sometimes the sensory messages are too weak, too strong or get mixed up in a “traffic jam” resulting in disruption of daily routines and activities. The senses include the familiar sight, sounds, touch, taste and smell. They also include the less familiar senses sometimes referred to as the “hidden power senses”, the proprioception and vestibular senses which give us our awareness of speed, movement, pressure on our joints and muscles and the position of our bodies. The third hidden sense, interoception, refers to the sensations you feel from your internal organs such as the sensation that lets you know you need to go to the bathroom or when you have a stomach ache.

Community Doctor of the Month!

This month 'Ohana OT has chosen:

Dr. Petra Swidler, MD

Dr. Petra Swidler, Developmental Pediatrician

Dr. Swidler is originally from Germany, where she completed her medical school training as well as her pediatric residency. Dr. Swidler likes to travel, so she decided to work in Australia for a while where she attended at a remote community hospital in Queensland and then at a teaching hospital in Adelaide.

Petra has family in the United States, so after living and working in Austria, she explored a career here. She completed a Pediatric residency in Iowa and a fellowship in Medical Genetics at the University of California in San Francisco. Petra moved to Wenatchee from St. Louis, Missouri where she practiced for the past 12 years in Medical Genetics and Developmental Pediatrics at the St. Louis University.

Dr. Swidler has a true passion for working with all children but holds a special place for children with developmental challenges.

Petra is a big outdoor enthusiast, and in her free time you can find her walking her two dogs with her daughter and husband in the Foothills of Wenatchee. See you on the Balsamroot trail!

It's when a child has difficulty processing the world around them. What they see, hear, smell, touch, and taste isn't recognized the same as you and me. The signals get mixed up and it can cause … More...

Click Below To Learn More On How To Make Your Child’s Life A Better Place